Newcastle United blow big lead at Old Trafford, lose 3-2

What started as an amazing performance on the road, ended in yet another loss for Newcastle United.

After going into halftime with a 2-0 lead, it looked as though Newcastle United was on their way to claiming their first victory of the season. Urgency and constant pressure from Manchester United saw the home side climb back into this match as they scored three goals in twenty minutes.

Newcastle will head back to Tyneside stunned and demoralized, but there were plenty of positives to take from this match. Here is a general outline of what happened this evening in the entertaining match at Old Trafford.

First Half

With nine total shots created in the first 45 minutes of action, and six of them being on target, Newcastle did not look like a side that only had two points entering this match. Newcastle looked stellar on the ball as they spread the field to perfection leaving one winger absolutely open at all times.

Two quick goals from Kenedy and Yoshinori Muto in the opening ten minutes silenced the crowd at Old Trafford and placed heavy pressure on the shoulder of Jose Mourinho. Kenedy’s position on the pitch made him an easy target for a through-ball from Ayoze Perez and the Brazilian’s quick cut-back and curled shot gifted the Magpies with a 1-0 lead.

Only two minutes later, Muto spun away from two defenders to score a powerful goal down the middle on his debut as a starter on the front-line for Newcastle. Manchester United did not look dangerous in the first half despite maintaining 73% of possession. The Red Devils almost got one back, but Marcus Rashford sent his header wide of goal. Overall, Newcastle played with amnesia in the first half and took it to Manchester United.

Second Half

The second half was largely dominated by the Red Devils who forced the Magpies to defend much more than they would have liked. Manchester United constantly pushed the ball forward and had several attempts to score to close the deficit.

After 70 minutes of action, Manchester did just that with with a light, but properly placed free-kick from Juan Mata. The equalizer did not take long as Anthony Martial scored a curling shot in the bottom corner in 76th minute. Manchester did not stop there as they kept pushing the ball forward.

The 90th minute triggered a mix of emotions in Old Trafford as Alexis Sanchez scored the game-winning goal to secure three points for the home side and potentially saved Mourinho’s job for at least another week.

What’s Next?

Newcastle will head into this international break with their heads down, but they can use this two-week break to their advantage to better prepare for Brighton on October 20th. The Magpies were so close to claiming their first victory of the season, but if they can emulate this performance going forward they will be fine against mediocre opponents. For now, Rafa Benitez must find a way to relax his players’ emotions after this 3-2 loss and motivate them for their next match.